


More Loyal Than a Trained Dog

by mandaree1



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Amethyst starts a chain reaction without meaning to, By which I mean the fight we've been theorizing between Pearl and Amethyst, Death, Gen, Morning Sickness, Pregnancy, the big fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 06:46:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6743749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandaree1/pseuds/mandaree1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A gem nursemaid isn't exactly something you see everyday, but Vidalia couldn't be in more capable hands when she finds out she's pregnant with her first child. Amethyst is determined to be a good friend, even as things start falling apart back at the temple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'm the good kind of clueless, I swear

"Hey. Did I ever get around to teaching you how to hotwire a car?"

Amethyst had to think about that one. Vidalia had been teaching her things- both illegal and legal- for quite a while now, so she had to make sure a lesson hadn't somehow managed to slip her mind. It hadn't. "Nope."

"Really? That needs to be fixed. Like, immediately." She popped her gum, but there wasn't as much vigor in it as there normally would have been. Her entire persona seemed a bit off today, if she were being honest with herself. She looked- no, felt- anxious, but Amethyst didn't have a clue as to why. "But, before we go off on this little adventure- do you know how to drive?"

Good question. Greg had taken her to the outback to show her the basics- Pearl and Rose could drive, but human laws tended to change quick, so they'd needed refreshers-, just like he had for all of the gems (and, yes, she had tried to sneak into the back to watch the fur fly between him and Pearl. Greg had kicked her out, looking vaguely annoyed, but Pearl seemed amused, so it was worth it), and she knew how everything worked, but she wasn't sure if it all added up to safe, legal, driving. It had, however, given her a taste for engine oil. "...Sorta?"

Vidalia didn't look all that surprised. "I'm driving."

She choose a little red pickup truck. Whose it was, Amethyst didn't know. The door was unlocked, but no one ever really thought to lock stuff up in Beach City anyway. Not in the middle of fall, with no tourists in sight.

One quick hot wiring crash course later, they were driving out of town. Much like the owner of the truck, she didn't know where they were going, exactly, but trusted her friend's judgement. The look on Vidalia's face made her bite her tongue.

"Couldn't we, like, get in big trouble for this?" She asks instead, leaning her chin on the arm she'd propped up on the armrest. Vidalia visibly pauses, then shrugs.

"Scared to get a little down and dirty?"

"Hardly." She scoffed. "I just don't think Greg's gonna be too happy if he has to pick us up from the police station." Then, as an afterthought that wasn't really an afterthought; "Again."

"That sounds like Greg's problem to me." She retorted, then paused. "Do Garnet and Pearl know about-"

"No." Not if she could help it, anyway.

"Ah."

"Well, I mean, Garnet probably does. Rose would find it super cool, but she hasn't mentioned it, so I'm gonna take that as a no. Pearl definitely doesn't. Greg promised he'd keep that on the down low so long as we didn't do it again."

"You gotta hate blackmail." Vidalia says calmly, but her leg is jumpy. Amethyst wonders if that's a safe thing, since the movement probably isn't helping her keep the car's speed steady. "Don't worry. They already know who took the truck; everybody knows us, after all. We'll leave 'em an apology note. Those suckers won't even call the cops."

She stares out the window for the rest of the trip.

Amethyst doesn't bother to read the sign on their way in, but she knows where they're at. At least, she does vaguely. She knows a hospital-thingy when she see one. Or an offshoot thereof.

The waiting room was bare save for the receptionists desk and rows of plastic chairs. Amethyst sat down next to a table of magazines and started to flip through one whilst her friend talked to the lady at the front counter.

"Okay." Vidalia said as she sat down, placing her balled up fists on her knees. She sounded nervous. "I'm actually doing this."

"Doing what?"

"They can check for sure." Amethyst gave her a blank look. Vidalia elaborated. "Remember what we talked about the other day? About me and Marty?"

It clicked. That whole 'birth' talk she'd been given a couple of weeks ago. That whole talk about how she might be going to _give_ birth that had occurred soon after. " _Oh_. They can check for that?"

Vidalia gave her a curious look and nodded. "Yeah, but this joint is making me nervous. This whole _thing_ is making me nervous. I need something to do with my hands. Wait a second." She lunged for her purse- something she hardly, is ever, lugged around- and began digging through it. "I have brushes, and you have hair."

"Ugh, _Vidalia_." She wines. "I hate having my hair messed with."

"I know, I know. Just... please?"

Vidalia never said please. She never got worried, either. Entirely convinced she should be concerned, Amethyst turns her back to her and flips the page.

She grits her teeth and bears the onslaught of the dreaded brush with as much humor as she could conjure up. It wasn't that she never brushed or washed her hair- it was one of the few things she kept clean, honestly- it was just one of those things. She'd never liked having other people mess with it.

Amethyst scoffs at the picture of a woman in a tiny black dress and holds it over her head. "Who in their right mind would wear that?"

A pause. "A woman dressed to kill."

"Or be killed." She grumbled, lowering the magazine. "If someone walked onto a battlefield like that, they'd be obliterated. It's just not good battle-wear."

Nor is her own outfit, if she were being honest with herself, but that's different. Vidalia either doesn't know that or doesn't comment on it. "Oh, she's going to battle, all right. Just not the kind you're thinkin' of."

A nurse stepped into the room and called Vidalia's name. She stood, taking a second to make sure her ponytail wouldn't fall apart with a satisfied nod. "Thanks for that. Oh, wait! I almost forgot."

Digging through her purse, the tall woman pulls out a cheap yellow plastic butterfly clip and pulls her bangs away from their usual place over her eye. "There. So you can read better."

"Thanks."

"Yup. See you in a few... I hope."

* * *

 

Vidalia takes more than a few. She's gone for the better part of an hour.

Amethyst doesn't expect anything less. Hospitals are really busy places, or so she hears, and her friend has always been good about being late. Fashionably late, she calls it. She didn't know fashion went beyond clothes.

People come and people go, but Amethyst hardly notices them. One man, whom she could only assume was here for a friend, nudged his buddy, pointed at her, and said something. They both laughed.

Feeling surprisingly self-conscious, she flushes and violently yanked the hairclip out, stashing it into her pocket. She goes back to reading, bangs hindering more than helping her.

Vidalia comes out of the back area, face blank. She grabs her arm. "Come'on. Let's go for a drive."

* * *

 

Vidalia is even quieter during the ride back, something Amethyst hadn't thought was possible. She gently pulled the hair-tie out and stashed it in the other woman's purse without a word. Pearl would never let her hear the end of it if she found out she was willing to let a human mess with her hair but not her.

Eventually she pulled off the road and killed the engine, climbing out stiffly. Amethyst watched her walk around the side, pull down the bed, and sit on it before following.

Amethyst personally didn't like trucks, but that probably had something to do with being short. She crawled onto the back with some difficulty and swung her legs.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really."

"Okay."

"I'm pregnant."

"Cool."

"Not cool!" She snapped. Amethyst flinches back. "I'm too young for a kid!"

"Uh, Vidalia? Humans are too young, period."

"Well, _some_ of us don't live for eternity." She crossed her arms irritably. She snorts.

"Don't kid yourself. I'll be lucky to make it to seven thousand, if that, with my luck. What's ten years to a human, anyway?"

"It's a _long_ time, Amethyst. I'm supposed to get older, grow wiser. All that crud we laugh about. What kind of mom could I even _be_?"

"Uh, a cool one?"

"I'd rather have a steady and boring parent over a careless and 'cool' one." She glances at her. "What about you? Don't gems raise their young?"

Amethyst hands tense, but otherwise she pulled off a nonchalant look. "Gems don't give birth."

"Then how do you-"

"It's complicated." Not really. But she doesn't want to talk about it. "You learn to look out for yourself pretty quick."

"Well, heck. Compared to all that, I'd be mom of the year."

Amethyst grins and put a hand on her leg. She'd go for the shoulder, but reaching that high gives her cramps after awhile. "Hey, don't worry about it. At least, this way, you can grow up together, right? I dunno. I mean, if I was a human kid, I'd want a mom who didn't know all the answers. Somebody who'd grow up and make mistakes with me. It'd be cool."

The taller woman flashes her a small grin and glances at her knees. "Oh, man. Dude. I don't even know how to cook."

"Is that important?"

"No kid 'a mine is growing up on fast food."

"Okay." She says calmly, thinking through what little she honestly knows about humans. "Don't they have... classes? For this kinda thing?"

"Yup. Gonna have to start going to 'em. You game?"

Amethyst knew the answer before she even thought to ask. "Always."

At the end of the night, she still has the hairclip in her pocket. She never quite gets around to giving it back.


	2. I love food. Cooking? Not so much.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst and Vidalia find that the structure of human classes don't suit their style.

The next time Amethyst swings by Vidalia's house, the taller woman is busy cleaning every surface she can get her hands on.

Amethyst points toward a pile of thin, newer-looking, books she's stacked on the middle cushion of her couch. "What're those?"

"Baby books." She answers, without even bothering to glance up.

"Books can have babies?" Can _everything_ have babies around here?

"No." She snorts. "Books _about_ babies." She shot her a look over her shoulder and went back to sweeping.

" _Oh_. Cool." Amethyst flops down on the far right seat and grabs a book from the top. "I didn't know they had this kinda thing."

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you read before." Vidalia comments, watching her curiously. "I kinda figured, considering you're over five _thousand_ years old, not to mention a sentient _rock_ , you only ever bothered to learn your own lingo."

Amethyst didn't bother telling her that, technically, this _is_ her home language. Vidalia knows a lot about gems, moreso than the average human, but she doesn't know about... that. She will, someday- it's not like she'll understand what it means, anyway- but she knows she won't be able to get away with little white lies. She knows enough about gems to put two and two together and realize that something about her story is off. Vidalia isn't stupid; and that scares her. "I can read- it just takes me awhile."

"Huh." She walks over to sit on the other couch cushion, shoulders slumping. She looks tired. "Well, you don't have to read them if-"

"Shh." Amethyst puts a finger to the other woman's lips, eyes glued to the pages with a toothy smile. "Hush. I'mma readin'."

Vidalia chuckles, finally relaxing into her seat. She grabs a book of her own and, after a contemplative pause, opens it to begin reading.

* * *

 

Cooking class sucks.

Or so Amethyst deems as she irritably glares at the apron she's wearing. It's too tall and too wide, so it does nothing but get in the way, but the teacher lady said they didn't carry 'children sizes.'

Amethyst oughta 'children size' her.

"Amethyst, quit ogling the chocolate chips and help me stir."

She dragged herself away from the bowl that had been left out by the class before this one with a sigh. "Fine. But I still don't think it's fair. I wanna eat it."

"You can only do so much clean-up in under twenty minutes. Besides, who's to say that isn't her lunch?"

She grumbles under her breath and obediently takes the bowl from her, whisking powerfully to sidetrack herself. Vidalia wraps her hands around her stomach, hunches, then straightens and walks out of the room without a word, her head held high. She watches her go, blinking.

Ten minutes later Amethyst finds her losing her lunch in a public bathroom. What had been a simple trip to relieve herself had seemingly spiraled out of control.

Amethyst crawls under the door and sits beside her, setting a supportive hand on her back. She doesn't know much about human emissions, she admits, but who knows? Maybe she needs help, or something. "What's wrong?"

Vidalia, head still in the toilet, sounds defeated. "Morning sickness."

"But it's not morning." She points out.

"Yeah, well. Whoever named it, lied."

"Oh." A pause. "Is this normal?"

"As normal as it gets. Most people get morning sickness when they're pregnant."

"Most?"

Vidalia shrugs. "It's not an exact science."

"Oh. Okay."

"Ugh." She slumps a bit, gripping the toilet. "This sucks."

"Don't they have- I dunno- stuff for this?"

"That's not an exact science either. It might work- it might not." She shrugs her shoulders helplessly.

"Oh." She repeats, because what else is there to say? "Wanna bounce?"

" _Oh_ , yeah." She says, slowly getting up and dusting herself off. Amethyst scrambles out of the stall and give her a semblance of privacy. It's not much at this point, but, hey. She tries. "But we gotta stop by the store."

"We do?"

"Yup. Forget cooking class. We're gonna learn the old-fashioned way."

Amethyst had thought this _was_ the old-fashioned way. "We are?"

"Yup." She smirks at her. "Cookbooks, baby. No old crone telling us what to do; just Betty Crocker and a lot of messes."

She could dig that. Like, a lot. Amethyst smiles. "Let's do it."


	3. It's a-kickin'!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vidalia is proud and Amethyst is confused. The story of how Vidalia finds out about the Kindergarten.

"Dude, Amethyst. Amethyst. Amethyst, dude. Dude. Amethyst. Dude, _Amethyst_ -"

"Dude, Amethyst, what?" She whines, sleepily propping herself up on her front hands. She'd been quietly snoozing on the couch, curled into a ball, minding her own dang business, when suddenly Vidalia was shaking her awake from the other side of the pile of books that were still scattered there, eyes bright.

" _Dude_ , feel this!" She answers, voice bright with excitement. She grabs her wrist and presses her small hand to her stomach.

"What are you-" She felt something bump her hand. Amethyst jumps. "What was that?"

" _That_ was the baby." Vidalia announces, a proud smile plastered across her face. "He's finally old enough to kick."

"Wow." Amethyst blinks at her. "Still growing and he's already pickin' fights. He's your son, alright."

"Ha. You read the books; you know what I mean." Vidalia snorts. It's the happiest she's looked in awhile. She's silently grateful to the growing ball of flesh for making her this happy.

"Let me see." She drowsily crawls onto Vidalia's lap, head pressed against her belly. The baby kicks again, just above her ear. "Seesh. This kid don't like me very much."

"He just shows his affection through violent means." She assures her briskly. "It's nothing personal."

Amethyst snorts and falls silent.

"You okay?" Vidalia asks out of the blue.

"Huh?" She forces herself out of the half-asleep state she'd been in. "Yeah. Sorry." She awkwardly pulls away.

"Amethyst?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Amethyst stretches. "Nothin' to thank me for."

"You're here." She says softly. "That's more than Marty."

"Marty was never much, V. That's not a big compliment."

"You have a point." She agrees. It's the first time they've spoken about him since this whole fiasco began. "Hey, Amethyst?"

"Dude, trying to sleep here." She pulls a couch pillow over her face, muffling the words. "What?"

"Are gems, like, hatched from eggs, or what?"

Amethyst snorts, not awake enough to properly tense at the question. "We're not birds."

"Then, how..."

"We're like plants, I guess." She answers, shrugging. "We come out of the ground."

"...Seriously?" She sounded shocked. It must be a pretty weird idea, to a human, she thought.

"Yup."

"Sentient space rocks come out of the _ground?_ "

"Yup."

Vidalia hums. "That makes sense, actually."

There was a lull. Amethyst almost manages to fall asleep.

"Hey, wait. If you can just pop out of the ground, how come you're not swarming the planet?"

Amethyst rolls over, suddenly wishing she'd stayed home. The gems never ask questions. The gems never keep her awake all night.

She stopped that thought in its tracks. They never ask questions because they know so much more than her, more than they would ever tell her. They didn't wake her up at the odd hours of the night because most emergencies could be dealt with without her help. They probably thought she wasn't strong enough to handle it; she _knows_ they only bring her along to keep her from complaining.

She really is an outcast. Among her own species. At least, that's how it feels.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping? Baby on the way and all that."

"Amethyst, I'm being serious."

"So am I. Stress is bad, right? Stress is a big no-no? Go to sleep."

"But-"

"Look, it's complicated, okay?" She snaps, then curls in on herself, ashamed. "Sorry."

"Me too." Vidalia stretches and closes her eyes. "I shouldn't have pushed."

They drift in and out of sleep for awhile. Amethyst's voice breaks the darkness.

"V?"

"Yeah." She yawns.

"If you want, I can show you."

* * *

 

She's really doing this, she thought, clenching her fists in her lap.

Of course, she'd always planned on doing it, but she had time to spare. Vidalia would live for a few years yet- a short amount of time to gems; a lifetime to humans- so there had been no real rush.

But now Vidalia is having a baby, and everything seems to be flying by. Things never went this fast with the gems, even when they were fighting; it was careful, choreographed, and calculated.

The three C's, she thought, mildly amused. The three things she could never be.

"Are you okay?" Vidalia asks hesitantly.

"I'm fine."

"You're just so... still."

Amethyst glances down. She probably hasn't moved since the ride started, only breaking rank- so to speak- to give directions. She might not have even been breathing. It wasn't like she had to, after all.

She took in a breath of air, relishing in the unnecessary action. Truth be told, she wouldn't mind being a human; to not have people questioning her left and right about doing things that felt natural to her; to be free of all the complicated gem stuff she would never really know because they'd never really tell her; to be _normal_.

All in all, though... still not worth the tiny lifespan.

"If this is a big thing..." Vidalia trails off. "You don't have to show me if you don't want to."

"We're here." Was Amethyst's only answer.

Climbing out of the car, she stops Vidalia from continuing down the path that would've led into the Kindergarten. "I'm not sure what the old tech could do to you- 'specially since you're pregnant. Not to mention all the dust. Let's just stay up here; for safety."

It's a weak excuse, but Vidalia's gaze is fixed firmly on the forgotten patch of land. " _That's_ the place where gems are made?"

"One of 'em." She agreed.

"It's, so..." Vidalia searches for the right word.

"Dead." Amethyst states flatly. "I know. 'S why human birth is so cool, you know? Nothing dead about that."

"You all... Garnet, and Rose, and Pearl... you all came out of this place?"

"Nope." She scuffs her boot in the dirt. "Just me."

"Well, that explains a lot, I guess." She blinks at her, surprisingly calm about all of this. "So, they drop you into the ground, you pop out, and then what? They leave you alone to climb on rocks for a few hundred years?"

"Gems come for us." She pauses. "For them. Gems came for _them_."

"Like... adoptive parents, or something?"

Amethyst shivers instinctively, remembering the stories she'd been told. Of commanding officers dragging newborn gems around, assigning positions, putting them on ships for transport. Some had been expected the fight the moment they'd popped out, only seconds- mere _seconds_ \- old. "No."

The finality in her voice makes the woman flinch. "I feel like there's a lot I don't know about all of this." She admits softly. "A lot I don't _want_ to know."

There's a sudden onslaught of things she could tell her.

_I'm bad._

_I'm one of the reasons we went to war._

_Heh, yeah. There was a war. It's a long story._

_I'm lucky_

_I'm not good luck, though._

_They could've taken me away._

_I was an accident._

_I was a mistake._

Amethyst swallows the words. "Uh-huh." She turns away, feeling a sudden pang of hole-sickness. Things had been so much simpler when she didn't understand. "Let's, just... go."

Vidalia drives in silence, griping the steering wheel tightly. "Y'know, it kinda sucks that you guys can't have kids."

"Hmm?"

"You wouldn't be a half-bad mom."

Amethyst snorts. "Nah. I'll never raise a kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look. Irony.


	4. Future Vision ain't as nifty as one might wish it'd be.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst brings home the spare books.

Amethyst hums a tune she can't remember the title of as she struts into the Temple, arms laden with baby books, read and bookmarked to the highest degree, given to her by Vidalia after careful examination.

 

Pearl and Rose are talking, perched on the warp pad. Rose is grinning widely, and Amethyst would bet anything that she's been with Greg recently. Pearl and Amethyst both share a bolt of jealousy, for their own reasons, but both also force them away.

 

They're more alike then they'll ever admit, Amethyst thought. She suddenly has a realization that Garnet has never really voiced her opinion about all of this either way. It must be hard, being a strong, vocal force, yet somehow silent.

 

Pearl glanced up at her. "Hello, Amethyst. Vidalia's house again?"

 

"Having a baby requires, like, a lot of work, P." She tsked lightly, a big grin on her face. "It's kind of a big deal."

 

"It wouldn't kill you to try and be around more often." She sniffs. Amethyst wonders if they've missed having her around, heart soaring and then falling. No. They probably just want to make sure she doesn't go off the rails and kill a human, or something.

 

Rose gently points to her burden. "What are those?"

 

Amethyst proudly holds out the pile books for her to take. While more Earth savvy than, say, Pearl, and maybe even Garnet, Rose is the master of all things human, and it's always a treat to know about something she doesn't. "Books about babies. There's tons of 'em."

 

"Hmm." The woman pulls a thin white one off the top and flips it open to a random page towards the middle. Pearl, leaning over her shoulder, gags at the images.

 

"Organic lifeforms are so... barbaric. Why can't they just plant themselves like any other species?"

 

Amethyst puts her hands on her hips. "Yeah, 'cause that worked _so_ well here, huh?"

 

Pearl's head snaps up. For the first time in many years, she feels an argument boiling up between them.

 

The thin gems opens her mouth to say something, but Rose interjects, effectively shutting them both down. "It's all so... fascinating."

 

"I know, right?" She crawls onto the warp pad beside her, tilting her head back in an attempt to catch the words. Pearl huffs and walks away.

 

She heads to the Temple door, mildly surprised to find the fusion leaning against it. She hadn't heard her enter. "Garnet?"

 

Garnet flinches a bit. Her whole body sags, mouth dropping, then snaps shut. She visibly grits her teeth, fists clenched.

 

"Garnet? Are you okay?"

 

Garnet tilts her head back to look at her. "'M fine." She rumbles, but there's a bitter taste to her words. Is that _grief_ Pearl hears?

 

"What was that?"

 

"Nothin'. Just caught me a bit off-guard, is all."

 

Pearl knows she doesn't mean her. She turns to stare at the two gems animatedly chattering. It suddenly feels like they're miles away. "Was it a bad possibility?" She asks gently. Garnet never did like talking about the darker side to her future vision.

 

Garnet, to her surprise, shook her head. "Not a possibility. Not anymore."

 

"Can I borrow a few of these?" They hear Rose ask. "I'm curious." Garnet winces out of the corner of her eye.

 

"Of course!" Amethyst slid the while pile over. "Vidalia gave 'em to me to do whatever I wanted. We've read 'em all. Keep 'em."

 

"Is something wrong?" She blurts out, knowing full well that she would tell them if something was wrong. "Are they in danger?"

 

She shook her head. "No danger."

 

"Then what's the matter?"

 

"Nothing anyone can do now." She utters. "S' what she wants. We'll be _fine_."

 

She's not talking about herself and Pearl anymore. She's fairly certain, in the back of the fusion's mind, two beings are starting to form. "Stop being so cryptic." She snaps, truly frightened now. "Either tell me or don't."

 

Garnet turns to her. Pearl can't see beyond her shades, but she can imagine three eyes scanning her form, two voices discussing it back and forth. _Should we tell her?_ She can imagine one saying. _Can Pearl handle it?_ The other would answer.

 

Of course she can. (Not really.)

 

"'S not important." She hums finally, setting a solid hand on her shoulder. "It'll all work itself out."

 

The fusion turns and escapes into her room. Pearl notices that her movements are stiffer than usual, her steps hurried.

 

She's just run out of the room, in her own way.


	5. Forget going home, I have a friend who's havin' a baby.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vidalia gives birth.

Vidalia, perched on the couch, tilts her head back to call into the kitchen. "Amethyst?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"About that driving thing... you can do it, right? Without getting us killed?"

 

Amethyst, wiping her wet hands on a towel, appears in the room with a shrug. "It won't be pretty, but I guess so. Why?"

 

She shifts a bit with a grunt. "'Cause I think my water just broke."

 

She stares at her a second, floored, before tossing the piece of cloth aside. "Gosh darnit!"

 

"Wow, I can really sense your anger and frustration." She chokes out, torn between amusement and tears. Amethyst stomps over and picks her up like she weighs nothing.

 

"Shut up and hold it in, or something." She snaps, jogging carefully to the door. She doesn't even sound winded.

 

Vidalia lets out a hysterical chuckle. "You don't 'hold in' a flippin' baby, Amethyst."

 

"Whatever." Amethyst kicks open the door. Vidalia reaches for the doorknob, but she doesn't stop moving. "Don't you give birth on me, dangit."

 

"Amethyst, the door."

 

"I'll fix the dent later." She grunts, helping her into the passenger seat of her vehicle.

 

"No, you forgot to lock it. What if we get robbed?"

 

"It's Beach flippin' City, V. Who the heck is gonna rob you?"

 

" _Amethyst_."

 

"Ugh, fine. Don't give birth while I'm gone." She slammed the door and sprinted up the steps. Vidalia had somehow managed to jam her keys into the lock on her way through, leading to a quick turn and yank before she was off.

 

"Stupid hormones. Stupid baby. I swear, if she has that little gremlin on the front seat..." She growls before slipping inside the driver's seat.

 

"Can your feet even reach the pedals?" She frets.

 

"I can _shapeshift_ , Vidalia." She reminds her tersely, body glowing. Her feet can now reach the pedals. Stretching for long periods of time sucks, but it's a short drive. She resolutely grabbed the steering wheel. "Hold on."

 

"If you crash..."

 

"Have some faith and focus on the whole birth thing."

* * *

 

Amethyst helps Vidalia into the emergency room, shouting at the top of her metaphorical lungs. "We having a baby over here!"

 

Doctors and nurses swarm the young human. Content that her friend is safe, she finds a seat in the waiting room.

 

Amethyst has lived for thousands of years, and yet the hours ahead of her are torture. She blames it on the lack of stimulus. Other than the odd ill or bleeding human (something both interesting and horrifying) the emergency room is surprisingly dull. They don't even have a kid's station to play in.

 

She sees a man pacing a few feet away and tries that, but he gives her the stink eye. Apparently, it's not very nice to copy people. Amethyst crawls back onto her seat.

 

Eventually a nurse walks into the room and calls her name, giving her a dubious look when she jumps to her side.

 

"She's been asking for you, but...aren't you a bit young-"

 

"Lady, if this is about the height thing, then I can promise you I'm just the midget of the group."

 

The nurse's mouth snaps shut. She leads her away without another word. Amethyst gets to stay for the end of the birth. She holds the woman's hand and lets her beat at her shoulder.

 

Later, once everything is over, Vidalia looks horrible- tired and probably sore, but there's a proud gleam in her eyes. "It hurt like heck, but I did it. I had me a baby."

 

"Yup."

 

"I could sleep for a week."

 

"Ditto, and I'm in better shape than you."

 

"Rub it in, why don't you?" She mumbles dryly. The baby- washed and documented and whatever else they put newborns through- is now safely tucked in her arms. "Wanna hold him?"

 

Amethyst shrugs and carefully props him up. Admittedly, he looks kind of ugly. Tiny and wobbly and it's obvious from his eyes that there's not a whole lot going on upstairs.

 

 _Maybe Pearl has a point_ , she thinks. _Babies are weird_.

 

"He's cool." She says instead, handing him over before she accidentally kills him.

 

"You gonna head back to the Temple soon?"

 

Amethyst snorts. The idea is a bit concerning, and not just because she's spent the whole day waiting for a baby to be born. Pearl and Garnet have been weird lately. G's been mostly the same, save for a sudden stiffness in her features when Rose enters the room, but Pearl's on full-throttle freak-out mode. Something has to have set her off, but Amethyst hasn't been around enough to know what. "Are you kidding? I'mma stay the night here with you."

 

"That's not allowed." Vidalia informs her. "Visiting hours and whatnot."

 

"I'll stay in the room. Won't leave for nothing."

 

"They'll call security."

 

Tough crowd. Amethyst shifts into a proud puma- her all-time favorite cat- and lets our a roar. "Then they'll have to remember they're not dealing with a human now, won't they?"

 

Vidalia looks annoyed and pleased all at once. "You don't have to stay."

 

She snorts, a feline rumble in the back of her throat. Amethyst hauls herself onto one of those small chairs and curls up, the telltale snap informing her that she's probably gonna have to ask Greg for the money to replace it. "They'll take me over my dead body."


	6. Things start going downhill from here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst sees it first.

Amethyst sees it first.

 

Well, she's the first one who mentions it to anyone aloud, anyway. Garnet probably knows. She always does.

 

They're lounging on the couch, her and Vidalia. The baby seems to really like making noise, so the woman's only just now joined her, despite it being the early hours before dawn. Amethyst, who knows nothing about taking care of kids, tries to stay out of her way.

 

"You know how you looked, back when you first got pregnant? The whole 'bulging' thing?"

 

"Uh, yeah, I guess?" She mumbles, half asleep.

 

"Rose is starting to look like that."

 

Vidalia blinks and sits up, all of the tiredness vanishing in an instant. "Dude." She breathes.

 

"Yup. She's been smiling a lot, too. More 'n usual."

 

"Dude." She repeats herself, a smile creeping onto her face. "You're gonna be an aunt."

 

Amethyst wrinkles her nose. Rose has always been more than a sister to her, but she doubted the woman would appreciate the kindergarten gem calling her close kin. "I guess. Who knows? Maybe she just felt like bein' bigger."

 

"I thought you said gems couldn't give birth?" She replies, ignoring the feeble excuse.

 

"I said they _didn't_. Our physical forms are mostly the same, so, I guess, if she shapeshifted some stuff, she could." She shrugs. "I dunno. I never thought about it, honestly."

 

"Has there ever been a half-gem before?" Vidalia pauses. "I mean, I assume it's Greg's."

 

"It's his." She agrees. "Not that I know of." Which isn't a guarantee that it _didn't_ , just that she doesn't know about it.

 

"Dude. That's trippy."

 

"You're tellin' me."

 

"Do the others know?"

 

"I don't think so. Garnet might, but she hasn't said anything about it."

 

"Garnet wouldn't." Vidalia hums in agreement. "Ready to be a nursemaid again?"

 

Amethyst snorts. "Pearl's turn. Leave me out of it."

* * *

 

Amethyst already knows the inevitable reason of why Rose asks all the gems to gather on the warp pad, arms wrapped around her stomach. Greg is standing nearby, shuffling his boots. The poor guy looks pretty nervous, and she can't really blame him. If this didn't go well, _he_ would be the one to get hurt. He's the only one capable of dying easy, after all.

 

"I'm pregnant!" She singsongs.

 

Amethyst offers her a thumbs up, not even bothering to act surprised. "Cool."

 

Pearl gently tumbles to the floor with the grace of a majestic bird with a hole in its wing. "Really? Y-You're sure?"

 

She notices a happy gleam in Pearl's eyes. At first she's taken aback, but then she realizes that, human or otherwise, having a baby is still a big deal. Pearl's probably already coming up with a million things to teach it, ways to make it look up to her. ( _Better Pearl than Amethyst_ , a voice tells her, and she can't help but agree). The idea of it being _Greg's_ has pointedly flown over her head.

 

Garnet balls her fists and resolutely stares down at her lap.

 

"I'm sure." Rose nods, a cheesy smile on her face. "I can feel him growing inside of me."

 

"That sounds... weird." Amethyst answers. She knows that, thanks to shapeshifting, Rose can sense every murmur, every bump and growth. She wonders if keeping up those organs is hard work, but, if it is, she doesn't show it.

 

"Is that a good thing?" Greg asks worriedly.

 

"It means I can tell he's happy and healthy." She reassures him.

 

"It's a boy?" Greg's eyes light up.

 

"It's too early to tell- hasn't formed enough yet- but I'm certain."

 

"What about raising him?" Pearl chips in, accepting her diagnosis as fact, as they all do. Her nerves have clearly started to dig in. "We don't know how to take care of a baby!"

 

"I'll teach you." The human offers. He's so excited, the idea of teaching his sworn enemy hasn't dampened his spirits in the slightest.

 

"Do _you_ know how to take care of a half-gem child?" She snaps.

 

"No, but I know how to take care of a _baby_. Like it or not, Pearl, he's still gonna be part human. You need my help." He replies calmly.

 

Pearl huffs but doesn't answer. Amethyst, taking notice of the clench in her shoulders and the slight shake to her limbs, puts a gentle hand on Garnet's knee.

 

"G? Are you okay?"

 

Garnet stiffly shrugs off her support and stands. "Rose, can I talk to you about this?" She hesitates, clearly taking notice of the fact that everyone has quieted at her outburst, having heard something in her voice that isn't there normally. "Later, I mean."

 

Rose looks shell-shocked for a moment, surprised at the intensity in her mostly even tone, then slowly shakes her head. Her hands wrap around her belly protectively. "I think I already know what you're going to say. Nevertheless, anything about this we need to talk about, we can talk about it _now_. This won't be some secret, Garnet, whatever it is."

 

The tall gem shifts a bit, considering just leaving the room and being done with it, then nods and slips her shades off. All three of her eyes fix on her, drawn in concern.

 

"Rose, you know this will kill you, right?"

 

"Yes." Rose answers simply, without missing a beat. "I know."


	7. Yes, everyone is falling apart. Thanks for noticing.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big fight comes to light.

Their reaction is instantaneous. Pearl let out a yelp of pure horror. Amethyst's jaw dropped. Greg flinched and stared.

 

Garnet frowns and somberly slips her shades back into place. "I was afraid of that."

 

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?" Greg's eyes were wide. Much like the gems never doubted Rose, he'd never doubted Garnet. "I wouldn't have-"

 

"That's _exactly_ why." Rose whispers, grabbing his hand. Her stare was piercing. "I _want_ this. I knew the consequences, but I wanted it anyway. Our son... I know you can't see him, yet, Greg, but he's _beautiful_."

 

"Rose, are you sure this is such a good-" She tries to say.

 

"Garnet." Rose interrupts, chiding. Her eyebrow is raised wryly. "You, of all gems, should understand what it means to sacrifice a part of yourself to make something new."

 

Garnet's chin lowers slightly; the closest to admitting surrender as she gets. "I can't argue that."

 

"But that's _different_!" Pearl cries, looking torn between the urge to wrap her securely in her arms and the urge to fall to the ground. Her eyes are wide with panic. "Ruby and Sapphire didn't _die_ to make Garnet!"

 

The fusion winces and stares at her hands. Amethyst wonders if she's imagining what it must be like, as a fusion, to exist, but not really; a half of her permanently ripped away. Garnet exists in every breath her component gems take- if one were to die, would she keep on existing, or die with them?

 

"Didn't they, in a way?" She asks, rhetorically.

 

Garnet lowers her hands. "If this is what you want, Rose." She rumbles. "I won't fight you."

 

Rose looks relieved. "Thank you, Garnet."

 

Pearl's eyes snap to hers. "You're just going to let her _die_?"

 

She twitches, but otherwise holds her ground. "It's Rose's choice. I refuse to make that decision for her."

 

The thin gem stares at her, utterly betrayed. "How could you?"

 

Rose gently reaches out a hand. "Pearl-"

 

She jerks away. "I refuse to listen to this. If you're all willing to let our leader _destroy_ herself, then I won't be a part of it."

 

Pearl turns and stomps away. They can't see the tears in her eyes, but no one doubts their existence.

 

Garnet glances at Rose. The woman looks heartbroken, but resolve is shining in her gaze. "I won't take away such a young life, Garnet." She tells her. "I love him already. I couldn't do it to him, any more than I could any of you."

 

"No regrets?" She prompts quietly.

 

"None."

 

Garnet slowly nodded. "I'll go talk to 'er. It's gonna take some time for her to come around."

 

She turns and walks away. Amethyst hears her mumbling to herself under her breath, too quietly to discern. She doubts it was just _Garnet_ who echoed her own words.

 

"Rose?"

 

"Yes?" Rose focuses on her. _Really_ focuses. She's the only one who does that, it seems.

 

Amethyst suddenly realizes that the only gem who actually wanted her around is _dying_. Her heart sinks. "This is what you want, right?"

 

She wrapped her arms around her belly protectively. "More than anything."

 

Amethyst presses her own hand to the bulge. He's not big enough yet to be kicking. "Then... I'm happy for you. I just wish you didn't have to go."

 

Rose gently ruffled her hair. "I appreciate that, Amethyst."

 

She glances over her shoulder to the Temple. "I'mma go help Garnet with Pearl."

 

Greg stares after her as she jogs away. "Did _Amethyst_ handle that the best out of everyone?"

 

"She has her moments." Rose hums, turning to him. "Now, I think _we_ have some things to talk about."

* * *

 

"How can you possibly be _okay_ with this?"

 

"I never said I was okay with it." Garnet puts a supportive hand on Pearl's shoulder. "I _said_ I wouldn't fight her."

 

"Then you're a coward." She snarls, pulling away. So caught up in her emotion, she almost trips over the warp pad. "You knew all along, didn't you?"

 

"I can't control the future, Pearl. Just predict it."

 

"And _change_ it." Pearl snaps.

 

"I won't make Rose unhappy. 'Sides, it's not like any of us were gonna live forever. The Earth's got an expiration date on it, just like everything else."

 

"Well, excuse me for hoping I'd die alongside my closest companions." She replied, bitter.

 

"Two out of three isn't bad." Garnet offers her.

 

"This is what Rose wants." Amethyst murmurs. "That's what's important, right?"

 

Garnet nods. Pearl whirls around to face her, fists clenched.

 

"If anyone is to blame here, it's _you_. You're the one who gave her those _stupid_ books. You're the one whose been so _busy_ helping that woman with her fleshy offspring. You're the one who chose humanity over _us!"_ She blue eyes are hard as they bore directly into her heart. "Do you even understand what you've done?"

 

Amethyst's eyes water, unbidden. She blinks back tears, jaw slack with shock. Her mind is like a broken record, repeating the same word over and over again.

 

_Mistake._

 

She growls and jerks a finger towards her, shame and betrayal overridden by rage. "If that makes it my fault, then it's just as much _your_ fault as it is mine! You're the one whose in love with her. You're the one who swore to protect her. _You_ could've stopped me, but you didn't." She turns away slightly. "Don't go blamin' me for loving my _home_."

 

Pearl flinches as though struck. Shoulders shaking, Amethyst races to the safety of her room, gasping for air between the tears.

 

Garnet's face is pinched, arms crossed. "Nice one. You _know_ she's sensitive about that, Pearl."

 

Pearl huffs and turns away. "It's the truth."

 

"This will pass." She mumbles, but it doesn't sound like her. Garnet gives herself a shake. "We'll _all_ miss her when she goes. She practically raised us. She showed us how to be _free_. But that doesn't give you the right to hurt Amethyst, just like it didn't give her the right to hurt you."

 

"I don't know how we'll survive without her." Pearl whispers, curling in on herself. "What about missions? Defective gems? None of us are fit to be leader in her stead..."

 

Her voice dies. They glance at each other, both coming to the realization that Garnet would be leader after the woman was gone. It hadn't occurred to them before now, but it was only logical. She doesn't take back her hurtful words, although her shoulder tremble a little.

 

"There will _never_ be a leader as good as Rose." She states bravely.

 

Garnet doesn't react, good or bad. Her whole persona seemed to be ripped away from her.

 

"I'm not Rose." She agrees finally, before stiffly leaving the room. Her lips move silently as her halves placated each other, trying to keep up the strength to stay fused.

 

Pearl collapses onto the warp pad and puts her face in her hands.


	8. They might end up hating you, but I won't.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst isn't aware of her own defect, but she's not about admitting she'll love him no matter what.

The Temple feels unnaturally silent that night. Amethyst finds that she can't sleep.

 

Garnet had come in earlier and sat by her bed, telling her Pearl was grieving, that while she meant to _hurt_ , she didn't mean her words; she just wanted others to feel like she did, which was no excuse; she was probably going to be like this for a while, but it's not personal.

 

Except it is. Pearl had said exactly what she thinks of her, and it wasn't pretty. It was the truth. She spends too much time around humans. She _doesn't_ pull her weight around here. They really _do_ just put up with her for Rose, and would probably continue to do so after she was gone, in honor of her taming of the beast.

 

It hurts, but she'll deal. It's not like she has anywhere else to go.

 

Sometimes, she wonders what would've happened if she came out on time. This is one of those times. What would it be like, being one of thousands? Just one of the many chubby little Amethysts running around. Would that make her life easier, or harder? It'd certainly make her disposable.

 

Being disposable isn't bad in the long run, she supposed.

 

Opening the door to the main part of the Temple, she quietly makes her way outside, to Greg's van. Rose and Greg have fallen asleep together, leaning on the other's shoulders. Tear tracks have dried on Greg's face. She can only imagine how horrible their conversation was. To find out that you've inadvertently killed the person you love can't be easy.

 

Amethyst crawls onto the van and presses her ear to Rose's stomach. She wonders what a half-gem will look like. Only time will tell. As it is, he's not even big enough to kick at her head.

 

"Hey, little guy. It's me."

 

She hesitates, but no one stirs.

 

"Wait, you probably don't know me. I'm Amethyst. You'll meet me someday. Garnet already knows you. Don't tell anybody, but I think she has a soft spot for you."

 

A bird squawked. Amethyst presses on.

 

"Anyway. I just wanted to tell you... well, the other gems might not like you very much at first. It's not your fault or anything. I'll try to be there for you, but I'm good at making things worse, so... yeah."

 

She pokes the gem in her belly button.

 

"But you're not a mistake, you hear me? If they can tolerate me... then they're gonna _love_ you." She says it like a promise, because it is.

 

" _I'll_ always love you, so don't worry."


	9. It's not a dream, and I'm glad it's not.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's funny how some things work out, isn't it?

Amethyst's fingers closed around the warm plastic of Vidalia's butterfly clip, blinking away the memories as though they were a simple daydream.

But it's not. It was real.

Even still, she can't find the urge to regret those days. The words she said, yes, but not the days themselves. Without the heartbreak, they wouldn't have Steven. Amethyst couldn't imagine never knowing Steven.

With a sigh, she set the hair clip aside and sat up. Stretching, she quietly picked her way across the room, opening her door to the main house. They wouldn't have a house either. No Steven, and no house.

(And no being treated as a semi-equal, but she cant trust that respect. It's a fleeting, silly thing; like her.)

She found Steven in a half-doze on the couch, and made a quick detour to the kitchen before greeting him.

"Warm milk." She stated, shoving the glass in his face. "That's what people do when they're trying to get sleepy, right?"

Steven eyed it skeptically. "It looks more like _hot_ milk to me."

"Hey, it's not bubblin' _that_ much." Still, she set it on the table anyway. "What's up?"

He shook his head, knees pulled up to his chin. "Bad dream."

"Yeah." She says, hopping up. "Me too."

"Really?"

"Yup. Buncha old junk. You?"

"Pearl and Garnet." He mumbles.

"The fight?"

Steven shrugs.

"S'cool. I get it. Musta been scary for you, seeing those guys go at it."

"It was scarier for you, I bet." He clutches at her arm, eyes soft yet all knowing. So much like Rose, but not. He's Steven. Rose is dead. "You've known them for thousands of years."

Amethyst hesitates. The option to admit her true feelings is always there, with her Little Man, but that's not fair. He's practically just been born, and he's already coping with dead moms and magic and alien invasions. Her problems are like fleas compared to all of that; tiny, and capable of being crushed.

"That ain't that long. Not really. Not for us."

Steven accepts this, but she can tell he doesn't really like it. "Amethyst, you don't think we'll ever fight like that, do you? I mean, you or Pearl or Garnet, that mad at me?"

He's not pulling his punches. It tugs at her nonexistent heartstrings. "Nobody's perfect, dude." She whispers, biting her lip. "But I hope not."

(There's so many ways that would end terribly. Steven has his shield and bubble, so he could fend her off, but she'd still _hurt_ him. She'd still lose his trust. She'd still lose her place as a Crystal Gem, because that is _not_ the actions of a Crystal Gem.)

(She doesn't want to think about this. It makes her entire existence shudder; betraying something this important.)

Unwilling to let this stand, Amethyst takes a hold of his shoulders and grins as wide as she can. "Let's build a fort."

His eyes lit up. He really is a hatchling. Or baby. Amethyst isn't sure if a newly-made gem has a term attached to it. "Can we?"

"Of course we can! Who's gonna stop us?"

So they built a cushion fort. Amethyst sees the irony in building a human wall to deflect alien-related thoughts, but doesn't find it particularly funny. Steven curls up beside her and snuggles close.

"Amethyst?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad Pearl and Garnet made up."

"Me too, dude. Me too."

He was snoring within a few minutes. Amethyst felt proud of herself for even something as simple as this; she was terrible at emotional things.

She presses a kiss to his forehead, then reared back as though struck, rubbing her face on her arm with a sour look. "Eww! How does Garnet _do_ that all the time?"

She spat a bit, then curled up, her hair acting as a blanket. Amethyst watched him a few moments, eyes half-lidded, before closing her eyes.

"Wouldn't you know it, dude? I was right."


End file.
